Call of Duty: Roads to Victory review (PSP)

Porting a successful series to a handheld console is definitely a hit-and-miss affair. Either the series will prove to be a worthy addition to the series (Legend of Zelda, Tetris, Mario Kart etc) or it will be a monumental flop. Unfortunately, and rather disappointingly, Call of Duty: Roads to Victory falls into the latter.

Call of Duty is one of the big two WWII franchises that exist – the other being Medal of Honor. Since a few ex-EA employees founded Infinity Ward (the developer behind the first two PC CoD games), the series have been locked in a battle to win-over consumers; and with the release of Medal of Honor on the PSP last year, it was inevitable that a Call of Duty iteration was to follow. However, the development reins were handed to Amaze Entertainment, a company well-known for developing movie tie-ins; and we’re all aware of how bad they usually are.

Texture Blur

Upon playing Roads to Victory, you arrive at a number of different conclusions fairly early on in the game. The first would be the adequate but lacking graphics – they stick to the CoD feel, but really suffer on the PSP platform. Most of the textures are pretty poor, and there are a moderate amount of glitches in some situations. You can find yourself stuck on seemingly invisible obstacles, and in some situations you can be shot through walls that will stop your bullets dead. However, despite this, I was still impressed with some of the animations – the planes that fall from the sky in a blaze of glory for example.

The audio is another aspect that isn’t up to par. Despite including the usual sound effects, such as large in-your-face explosions and machine gun rat-a-tat-tat’s, it fails to leave a lasting impression – mostly owing to the PSP speakers that suffer when things get loud. This isn’t a fault of the developers, as it’s a problem that plagues a lot of PSP titles. It’s a shame - the soundtracks of previous CoD games are incredibly atmospheric, and to be left with such a tinny portrayal is disappointing to say the least.

Auto Aim?

The war was not won with the actions of a single soldier (despite what Medal of Honor tries to tell you), so it’s rather comforting to find yourself in a fully-functional squad. Once again, though, this has been implemented in a lacklustre manner, and you frequently find yourself obstructed by squad mates sat motionless in trenches and doorways.

These problems, while numerous, are completely overshadowed by one major fault with Roads to Victory – the control method. Out of a set of 4 control schemes, only the default is marginally usable. For some unknown reason, and rather illogically, Amaze hasn’t allowed users to customise the control layout – and you can forget about using the analogue stick to look around. You have the option of aiming with either the d-pad or the face buttons, and this essentially cripples the title. Amaze is aware of this, and has included possibly the worst auto-aim implementation I have ever witnessed. Your weapon can be pointing in one direction, while your bullets travel in another.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Despite the failings of Roads to Victory, there are some positives. I particularly like the variation the title has to offer. You’ll find yourself with tank-spotting duties, protect and escort missions, sniper battles, and even at the helm of huge aircraft guns.

The unlockable content is also quite impressive – movies, PSP themes and information on weapons and vehicles. The multiplayer has the usual assortment of modes you’ve come to expect – deathmatch, capture the flag etc, but it’s only an ad-hoc implementation. The main problem you’ll have with multiplayer is finding someone else with the game.

We Blame the PSP Designers

I really wanted to like Roads to Victory. Being an avid Call of Duty fan, I was expecting this to be a portable version of the entertaining gameplay I found on the PC and the Xbox 360. What you get, however, is a backward cousin that tries but fails to live up to the previous achievements of the series. The blame cannot be placed with Amaze Entertainment, as these issues are suffered by other FPS titles on the PSP. The lack of a second analogue stick really impedes the control capability of the machine, and is the main downfall of such titles.

At a stretch, I think it’s possible to say Amaze has accurately conveyed the atmosphere of WWII. After all, War is hell – and it’s certainly hellishly difficult trying to play Roads to Victory.